His Majesty King Abdullah and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday, following a meeting between the two leaders.

Before the meeting, the two countries signed an agreement under which Japan will provide Jordan with grant aid for rehabilitation and expansion of water networks in Balqa Governorate (2.238 billion yen), and the non-project grant aid for provision of Japanese SMEs products (200 million yen) in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
 
The agreement was signed by Japan’s Ambassador to Amman Shunichi Sakurai and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ibrahim Saif in the presence of King Abdullah and Abe.
 
At a joint press conference following an extended meeting of His Majesty and Abe, the King said: “Jordan is grateful for Japan’s continuous support, particularly as we cope with the unprecedented humanitarian refugee crisis. And we appreciate the announcement of new grant assistance to Jordan, especially for the water sector. And we look forward to renewing the development policy loan for 2015.”
 
His Majesty also stressed the need for more international cooperation and coordination to address a number of regional issues, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, terrorism, Syria and Iraq, highlighting Japan’s pivotal role in the international political arena.
 
Abe voiced appreciation for Jordan’s role in pushing for stability and security in the region, including addressing the issue of the Islamic State terror group, acceptance of Syrian refugees and contributions to peace in the Middle East.
 
During the meeting, which was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Ali bin Al Hussein and His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi, the King’s personal envoy and religious and cultural affairs adviser, the King stressed the need for continuous international coordination to combat terrorism which, he said, is a “threat to all and has nothing to do with Islam”.
 
His Majesty also vowed relentless efforts to combat terrorism in coordination with all regional and international stakeholders.
 
Discussions also tackled efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East on the basis of the two-state solution with the King warning against the impact of Israel’s “provocative” measures in Jerusalem on efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.
 
On Syria, His Majesty renewed Jordan’s stance which advocates a comprehensive political solution to the ongoing war there, highlighting in this context the resource-limited Kingdom’s increasing burdens resulting from hosting a large number of Syrian refugees.
 
The King called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility and increase its assistance to help Jordan continue with its humanitarian assistance to refugees.
 
Abe voiced his country’s keenness on maintaining cooperation and coordination with Jordan, stressing the deep historic ties between the two countries.
 
The Japanese premier also expressed appreciation for Jordan’s protection and custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and its efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region, calling for reviving the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks on the basis of the two-state solution.